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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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DOCUMENTS 



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RELATIVE TO 



LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA; 



RECEIVED 



AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF 
SPAIN, THROUGH THE HON. C. P. VAN NESS, ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY 
AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY AT MADRID. 



THAlfSLATED BT ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

[No. 1.] 
From the Minister of War to the Secretary of State of Spain. 

Madrid, September 27, 1833. 
Most Excellent Sir: 

There being no papers of date anterior to 1789, in the Department 
under my charge, and as the notice of the Governors of the Province of 
Louisiana which you require, should extend back to 1769, I have this 
day written to the keeper of the general archives of tlie Indies at Seville, 
to select the papers relative to those before the first date, and send them 
to me immediately. As soon as they arrive, I shall proceed to fulfil the 
official request of your Excellency of the 23d instant; sending you, in the 
meanwhile, the annexed list of the Governors appointed to that Province 
from 1789 to 1800. 

(Signed) JOSE DE LA CRUZ. 

LIST OF THE GOVERNORS OF LOUISIANA, 

Fi'om 1789 to 1800, with the dates of their appointment. 

Colonel Don Estevan Miro — appointed ^Military and Political Governor 
of the Province of Louisiana by royal decree of July 14th, 1785; which 
document is among the general archives of Seville. 

Colonel Baron de Carondelet — appointed March 17th, 1791. 

Brigadier Don Manuel Gayoso De Lemos — appointed Oct. 28th, 1796. 

Colonel Don Manuel Salcedo — appointed November 21, 1799. 

JWB. — The papers in the archives of this Department of War, begin 
in 1789; therefore, no account can be given of the Governors to that year 
from 1769, as the Secretary of State requires; it maybe obtained from 
the general archives of Seville, where the papers of the Indies relating to 
those years are kept. 
1 



Q 



t 



513 

CJOX^No. 2.] '"^ 
From the Marquis de Grimaldi to Don Louis Unxaga. 

Saint Ildefonso, August 24, 1770. 

Lieutenant General Don Alexandre O'Reilly, in his letter No. 33, from 
this city, dated March 1, sent me copies of the instructions which he had 
drawn up, for the Lieutenant Governor establislied in the Illinois and at 
Natchitoches, and the new S})ecial [imrticulares) Lieutenants of the dis- 
tricts (partidos) of that Province. He informed me, that he had himself 
been to Point Coupee, and, at the request of the inhabitants, had appointed a 
surveyor for ench par tido, at half the tormer salary. He also enclosed to 
me an instruction explaining the forms to be observed in this business, 
and declaring that the granting of land in that Province, had been con- 
fided by his Christian Majesty, to the Governor and Comisario Ordeiiador; 
and he considered it would be better in future, that the Governor alone 
should be authorized by his Majesty to make those grants; and that 
orders would be given for conforming entirely with the said instructions, 
which had been drawn up and printed, in tlie distribution of the royal 
lands. 

The King having examined these dispositions and propositions of tlie said 
Lieutenant General, approves them, and also that it should be you and 
your successors in that Government only, who are to have the right to 
distribute {repartir) the royal lands, conforming in all points, as long as 
his Majesty does not otherwise dispose, to the said instruction, the date 
of which is February 18th, of this present year. 

I communicate this to you, in order that you may understand and carry 
it into effect. God preserve you many years. 

Given at Saint Ildefonso, August 24, 1770. 

(Signed) MARQUIS DE GRIMALDL 



[No. 3.] 

Royal Order addressed to Bon Pedro Garcia, Mayoral. 

The Paudo, January 28, 177 J. 
By decree of May 2d, 1765, I communicated to my council that I had 
appointed Captain Don Antonio de UUoa, of my royal navy, to proceed 
to the Province of Louisiana, which had been ceded by my cousin, the most 
Christian King, and take possession thereof as Governor, by virtue of his 
warrants and instructions; making, however, for the time, no innovation 
in its system of government, which is to be entirely independent of the 
laws and practices observed in my American dominions; but considering 
it as a distinct Colony, having even no commerce with the said domin- 
ions, and under the control of its own administration, council, and other 
tribunals; its direction and the correspondence with it being reserved to 
the Minister of State, as for as regards the situation of the country, and 
the laws and customs with which its inhabitants are to remain conforming. 
But those inhabitants having rebelled, on the '29th of October, 1768, I 
commissioned Don Alexandre O'Reilly, Lieutenant General of the Army, 



and Inspector General of all my Infantry, to proceed thither, take formal 
possession, chastise the ringleaders, and (informing me of all) establish 
the said Government, nniting the Province to the rest of my dominions; 
all of which he did, adapting its laws, and after proposing to me that 
which lie judged proper for the commerce of the country, and for the 
extinction of the council by which it was governed, establishing a cabildo 
in the place of said council, and taking other measures, as will be seen 
from tlie statements hei'ennto annexed; — all of wliich were approved by 
me, as likewise the appointment of Colonel Don Louis de Unzaga y 
Amezaga, as Political and Military Governor, witli a salary of six thou- 
sand dollars, free from the duty o^ media aiinata, and of two royal officers, 
to take charge of the administration of my Hacienda,^ to Avit: Don An- 
tonio Jose de Aguier, as Comptroller, {Cnniador,) with a salary of 1600 
dollars per annum; and Don Martin Navarro, as Treasurer, Avith 1200 
dollars per annum; and of three oilicers at salaries of 500, 400, and 360 
dollars respectively. I have resolved, that all which has been established 
as above, should remain and continue fixed; the said Province being, as to 
its spiritual concerns, annexed to t!ie Bishopric of Havana, and governed 
according to tiie laws of the Indies, and the regulations provided in them, 
and by special orders for my American dominions, by the Ministry of the 
Indies and the council, as being incorporated with those my kingdoms; 
and also that it depend upon the Captai)i Generalcy and administration of 
the royal Hacienda of Havana, just as the Government of Cuba does; for 
which purpose I approved the formation of a tribunal composed of the 
Captain General as president, and the Auditors of War and Marine; the 
Attorney {Fiscal) of the royal Hacienda acting as attorney, and the Clerk 
{Escribano) of the Government as clerk; to which tribunal these, my 
vassals, can appeal, and from it to the Council, without being obliged to 
apply to the more distant Andiencia of Santo Domingo. This shall be 
understood in the Coimcil, and in the Chamber for its obsei'vance; and the 
Cednlas] shall be issued, and measures provided for carrying into effect 
what has been determined; I being consulted on all doubts, and dti all 
aniendments which may offer. 

Given at the Pardo, on the 28th day of January, 1771. 



[No. 4.] 
Report to the King, on Bon Jl. O'Reilhfs Statements. 

Council and Chamber of the Indies, 

February 27th, 1772. 

Your Majesty communicated, that you had appointed Don Antonio de 
Ulloa, Governor of Louisiana, which had been ceded by the Most Chris- 
tian King; and that in the instructions given to him, he was commanded 
to govern that Province, independently of the practice observed in Ameri- 
ca, and under the direction of the Council of State; but that the inhabit- 

f Hacienda here comprises all that relates to the collection and (Ustributicn of the revenue. 
\Cedula is a letter patent, whether a cominission or order from the Government. 



ants, ungrateful for this distinction, had risen up in rebellion — for wliich 
reason your Majesty had commissioned Lieutenant General Don Alexan- 
der O'Reilly, to proceed thither, take formal possession, chastise the 
ringleaders, and establish such a form of Government, as would be most 
compatible with the condition of the country, its climate, and the charac- 
ter of its inhabitants. 

Your Majesty was pleased then to notify the Council of the energy, 
promptness, and activity, witli which Don Alexander O'Reilly liad execu- 
ted these difficult charges: and that the measures he had taken, were all so 
just, and so well adapted to tiie right intentions of your Majesty, that they 
had merited your entire approbation: and that for their being carried into 
effect, you had commanded the proper Cednlas and orders to be issued, 
you yourself being consulted on all doubts and amendments which might 
present themselves. 

The Council, entering into the spirit of the Royal decree, has examined 
with scrupulous attention, all the dispositions of the said Don Alexander 
O'Reilly, with all his orders, and proceedings in Louisiana: to which effect 
it has referred to all the documents accompanying the said decree, viz.: 
the Cedilla by which his commission was given, with power to take pos- 
session of said Province; and six statements, made by him; together with 
six draughts of Royal orders, approving the same — the whole drawn out 
at lengtii. 

O'Reilly sets forth in his Jirst statement, that the Province of Louisiana 
cannot subsist without trade, its inhabitants requiring flour, wine, oil. arms, 
ammunition, and all sorts of clothing; in exchange for which, they could give 
indigo, cotton, skins, Indian-corn, rice, and especially woods, which could be 
sold to great advantage in Havana, if that port were opened to a free trade 
with Spain, with the understanding, however, that the productions of the 
Province should pay no duty on entering Havana; nor any new alcahala 
or export duty be laid on goods leaving that port for Louisiana: that all 
the vessels belonging to the Colony, should be admitted as Spanish into 
HavVna, and all other ports of Spain, with the restriction, however, that 
no vessel be admitted into New Orleans, or employed in transportation, 
unless it be Spanish, or belonging to the Province: that vessels airiving 
from Catalonia with i-ed wine, should take away wood and other articles 
to Havana, and tlience carry sugar: that, for just reasons, he liad expelled 
from Louisiana, the English merchants who were established there, and who 
ruined and empovcrished the country, by their monopolies and illicit trade; 
for which he hoped to receive your Majesty's approbation. 

He merited such {ipprobation in reality, as appears from the royal order 
accompanying: and the Council having heard the opinions of the attorneys 
and Comptrollers General, declares, tliat the measures set forth in tlie said 
statement, by General O'Reilly, are so proper, and so well calculated to 
render that Province happy, that they alone ai-c sufficient to show the pro- 
foundness of his comprehension, the sublimity of his spirit, and the correct- 
ness of his judgment: that there is nothing which should be altered in them; 
and, that in those measures, it can see the gei-m of many improvements, 
and much that may conduce to the advantage and prosperity of the Colony. 

The Council, however, considers, tliat it is not proper to exempt forever 
from duty, goods transported from Louisiana to Havana, but only for a 
time, and until tlie motives for such an extraordinary favor shall have 
ceased. Your Majesty is to resolve, also, whether they shall pay the 



duty of almoxarifa'Zigo;* antl, upon the whole, it is the opinion of tlie 
Council, that proper Cedillas should he issued for carrying into effect the 
system of commerce, as proposed by the said O'Reilly. 

General O'Reilly, in his second statement, considers it necessary that 
the said Province should be subject to the same laws as the other domin- 
ions in America; and that all the proceedings should be carried on in the 
Spanish language: that a new tribunal should be created, composted of 
judges understanding both languages, the appeals from wjiich, should not 
be carried to the Jludiencia (a high court) of Santo Domingo, with which 
the Province has but little intercourse, but to Havaini, where a ti'ibunal 
should be estahlislied for the purpose, composed of the Governor, the Au- 
ditors of War and Marine, the Attorney of the Royal Hacienda, and the 
Clerk of the Government; and from which they should come to the Coun- 
cil. Finally, that the Government of Louisiana should be dependent on 
the Captain Generalcy and Ministry of the Royal Hacienda of Havana. 

Your Majesty approved these dispositions of O'Reilly, and the Council, 
considering this as an evidence of. the advantages to be derived, admires 
the measures of the said General, which prove the vastness of his genius, 
and that the establishment proposed by him, is so far worthy of being 
made, that the necessary Ccdulas should be issued to the Ministers of Ha- 
vana, and New Orleans, regulated in all points according to your pru- 
dent orders, but with the condition, that the intendants of the Royal Haci- 
enda and Marine, are to have voice and votes in the new tribunal to be 
formed in Havana. 

O'Reilly, in his third statement, declares that he has chosen six regidores 
or magistrates of New Orleans, to form a municipal council, {cabildo), two 
ordinary alcaldes, a syndic Attorney General, and a Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Property [Mayordcmo de Propios), giving the names of these persons, 
and annexing two printed copies of instructions — the one for the i-egula- 
tion of tlie cabildo, and the instruction of its members — tlie other foi* the 
direction of the judges: that in the said Cabildo, he had put Don Louis de 
Unzaga in possession of the Government, and had abolished and suppress- 
ed the old Council; that he had assigned more proper salaries to the Kegi- 
doreSf Clerk, and Assessor, and made arrangements for building a house 
oi ayuntamiento (meeting of the municipal body), by a person to whom he 
had ceded the proprietorship of the land destined for the government gar- 
den: and that as funds foi* the city, he had assigned certain duties on 
shops, taverns, gaming houses, &c., the arrangements I'espccting which, 
were received by the inhabitants with great satisfaction: that there had 
been long established in that capital, a duty, under the denomination of 
anchorage, destined for the preservation of the levy; and as repairs were 
constantly required, he had made no innovation either in the duty or in its 
destination. Finally, that the appointments of Regidores, Clerk, &c., as 
well as the assignment of funds for the city, merit your Majesty's approba- 
tion to their firm establishment. 

Your Majesty has given this approval; and the Council respects so wise 
a resolution; admiring in O'Reilly the energy with which he has pro- 
ceeded in matters which w^ere out of his ordinary employment and sphere; 
in his provisions for the civil, economical, and political government, nothing 
has been found requiring amendment or addition; moreover, in both under- 

*Note. — Peculiar duty on goods imported and exported. 



takings, there appears a delicate knowledge, and acute discernment of the 
laws of both Kingdoms, as well as of the practical and the forensic styles 
of our courts. The Council, therefore, conceives that proper Cednlas 
should he issued, for the formal estahlisliment of thesc^ excellent provi- 
sions, it being also ordered that some copies of the digests (RecopiLacion) 
of the laws of the Indies, and of Castile, he sent to the Colony, and be 
deposited among the archives of the aynntamiento. in order that the 
natives of the country may instruct themselves in tlie form of our Govern- 
ment, more minutely tlian they can from the mainial drawn up, with such 
discretion, by the said General, inasmuch as the latter, though very clear- 
ly and methodically expressed, is only an abridgement or compendium. 

O'Reilly declares in his fourth statement, that conformably with your 
Majesty's resolution, he had put Don Louis de Unzaga in possession of 
the political and military Government, wifch a salary of six thousand dol- 
lars, from which are to be discounted one-fifth as security, to be restored to 
him when his term of office expires; it appealing proper that he siiould be 
fi-eed from the duty of Media annata, as the office w as one of recent crea- 
tion. 

These dispositions, also, merited your Majesty's approval: and the 
Council is, of opinion t!iat the Cedula should be made out, conformably 
with what is proposed by the said General, who, in these, as well as in 
other provisions, has acted with the most consummate policy. 

With this Jifth statement he sent a minute regulation, in which he detail- 
ed all the expenses of your Majesty in that Province, and which were 
considered necessary, under present circumstances, taking into view the 
commerce, genius, character, climate, and the causes of the late dilliculties 
among the Colonists: he shewed that he had reduced the number of per- 
sons employed in the Comptroller's office, and in the public store, without 
any detriment to the prosecution of business in either office: that eighteen 
priests, understanding both French and Spanish, were required for the 
parishes of the country: and that supposing the spiritual affairs to remain 
under the direction of tlie Bishop of Havana, that prelate might direct 
some friars of the community of Saint Francis, at that city, to learn the 
French language, in order that these missions may at all times be filled: 
and that if your Majesty approved the enclosed regulation, 130 dollars a 
year would be saved of the 250 with which the Colony was endowed. 

Your Majesty also approved all that had been proposed and done by the 
said General; and the Council considers that it justly merited the Royal 
approval, nothing appearing among the provisions which does not conduce 
to the interests of your I^lajesty, and the happiness of the Colony. It 
sees, that by the admirable arrangement of pay aiid destination, which 
he has proposed in the military and political classes, the Treasury gains 
130 dollars, which advantage is due to the comprehensive and indefatiga- 
ble genius of the commissioner. 

The Council also is of opinion that the missionaries should be sent, as 
proposed, and that the proper Cedulas should be sent, for both purposes, 
as also for the establishment, as your Majesty ordains, of public schools, 
in which the first principles of the christian doctrine may be taught in the 
Spanish language, in order that the use of the same may be extended. 
The Council hopes your Majesty will have sent to him a copy of the con- 
tracts to be made with the director and masters of public schools, and the 
salaries to be paid to the friars, while studying, in order that they be 



transimtUd to the Comptrollor General, to be included in the accounts of 
Louisiana. 

In the sixth and last statement, he informs your Majesty that he had 
appointed a Lieutenant Goveruor for tiic District oC Illinois, Natciiito- 
chcs, &c., and giving instructions for the purpose of putting an end to 
illicit commerce, preserving good order, and maintaining the ])rovisions of 
the Supreme Government; he also encloses copies of the said instructions, 
adding that the colonists had admitted the regulations with good will, and 
tliat they were likely to secure tlieir affections for the sovereign under 
whose mild government they lived: that in order to complete this, he had 
gone himself into that distant Province, visiting eacli village, listening 
to the Colonists, and deciding in their disputes and complaints, without 
the embarrassijig forms of forensic proceedings: that he liad caused the 
lands of the inhabitants to be surveyed, fixing the limits, and subjecting 
this distribution to the forms contained in a paper accompanying: that he 
considered it proper, that grants of lands to the colonists should, in future, 
be made by the Govei-nor alone; your Majesty's first authorizing him to 
make these grants; and that they sjiould be regulated according to a paper 
which O'Reilly caused to be drawn up. in a meeting (junta J called for 
tl.at pur|)ose, and composed of the persons best acquainted with the affairs 
of the Colony. 

Your Majesty deigned to approve the provisions of this last statement, 
as well as those of all the preceding ones, except the article relating to 
tlie punishment of adulterers, which was ordered to be left in suspense. 
And the Council considers, that in a commission so troublesome and diffi- 
cult, and which, from the number of intricate matters embraced, met with 
immerous obstacles, and demanded a high degree of metliod and order, 
Don Alexandro O'Reilly has had the good fortune to be right in all cases, 
and to arrange things witli so much prudence, that (provided his plans are 
suffered to continue) all will infallibly be conducted for the best interests 
of both their Majesties. He has caused the new power under which the 
colonists are ])laced, to be loved and respected; he has enforced justice and 
the lav/s; has protected and extended commerce; has established harmony 
and concord with the neighboi'ing Indians; has ordered and placed troops 
at convenient positions, discipling tiien-i with that skill which is so 
lemarkable even among tiio many extraordinary qualities of this gene- 
ral officer: nothing has escaped his comprehensive penetration. The 
particular employments of persons destined for the public service — uten- 
sils to be distributed to the troops — the formation of various companies of 
militia, and their duties^ — and in a word, all that bel'Migs to the political 
and military government of tliat Province, has been disposed by tiiis 
General, with so much accuracy, prudence, and wisdom, that the Council 
finds nothing requiring the slightest amendment; but, on the contrary, 
many things worthy of its admiration and praise, which it justly bestows: 
all of which, it appears to the Council proper that your Majesty should 
approve, and tiiat royal Cedulas should be issued conf()rma!)ly with the 
representations, instructions, ai>;l notices of this commissioner. 

The Chamber represents to your Majesty, that at the same time the 
Cedulas are sent, the royal will be expressed to the Bisiiop of Cuba, 
that he, in exercise of his new jurisdiction and pastoral Ministry, pro- 
mote all that may conduce to the spiritual government and good of those 
parishes, and that he give account of what occurs, as well as of what he 
considers Jieccssary for the improvement. 



8 

Determined March 23, 1772. thus: 

'' Let the above be carried into effect, and the proper Ceihdas be issued 
by the Council, lor the coniirmation of those establishments, in ail their 
points." 



[No. 5.] 

From Don Estevan Miro, Governor of Louisiana, to Von Martin JVavarro, 
Intendent of that Province. 

New Orleans, January 7, 1788. 

When his Majesty resolved, in consequence of my representations, made 
through the Conde de Galvez, to establish parishes for Irish clergymen, 
in Natchez, and other places, in both the Floridas, he commanded the said 
Conde de Galvez, to form a plan or account of the method to be pursued 
in the said parishes, together with a note of the number of clergymen 
required for them. The Conde requested me to give him such intorma- 
tion as would be necessary for the execution of the said royal order; but, 
before I had an opportunity to reply, notice came of his death; upon which 
I resolved to draw up a plan myself, and send it to the Court. While this 
was going on, the four Irish priests arrived, to take charge of the said par- 
ishes; and as I had already received official notice that my plan had been 
submitted to the Court, yon and I agreed to send two despatches for great- 
er security in case the approval should arrive: however, his Excellency 
Don Antonio de Valdes, without giving me an exact answer in his letter 
of the 23d of August last, made various observations about the increase 
of population in Natchez, and added — "The four Irish priests, of whose 
embai'cation I gave you notice, will have arrived ere this, in your capital, 
in order to take spiiitual charge of the English and Americans wiio estab- 
lished themselves in vai-ious parts of that Provice, at the end of tlie last 
war. Should there be need of a greater number of such, on account of 
the increase of the number of Colonists, other ecclesiastics, of proper 
character, will, with your advice, be appointed for that purpose." In con- 
sequence of that notice, which makes known the desires of his Majesty, 
for the administration of spii'itual food to these colonists, it appears to me, 
that I and you can only wait for the ])roper time to establisli these parishes: 
as the expense must be placed to the account of the royal Hacienda, for 
those colonists, not being Catholics, will not voluntarily contribute 
to its support; and it is important that churclies should be built, so that by 
their being invited to hear the preaching, they may be thus brought to our 
holy faith. 

With this idea, I enclose to you, sir, a copy of the statement of the said 
plan; in it, you will see that I ask for the same number of Irish priests 
which his Majesty has sent, viz.: three for Natchez, and one for Finzas — 
in case that village should be found large enough to be erected into a 
parish. For the present, I have destined one of the said priests to Morila, 
in order that he may thence go to Finzas, whenever his Majesty declares 
his royal determination. I therefore shall only propose to you the estab- 
lishment of the two parishes of the district of Natchez. 

Knowing the advantages of uniting families into towns or villages, I 
think it would be convenient to lay out once, at the place wlicre the church 



9 

and curate's house at Natchez, are now being built, near the fort, and anotlier 
in the same district at Cole's Creek, the two places where parishes are to 
be established. For this purpose, I notified Lieutenant Colonel Don Car- 
los de Grand-pre, Commander of Natchez, to examine the ground, and to 
inform me respecting it, pointing out to him at the same time, that near 
the fort which I knew, and which belongs to Don Estcban Minor, the 
adjutant: In reply, he informed me, that it was in reality the most favora- 
ble spot, containing several buildings, among others, a house of fifty feet 
long by forty wide, galleries included, divided into a large hall and five 
rooms, with a separate kitciien, stable, and store house, situated in a tract 
of land containing three hundred arpens, on which the town could be laid 
out: the whole of this property the said adjutant would sell for two thou- 
sand dollars — a fair price — as it gives lodging at once to the two clergy- 
men, which would of themselves cost more if they were to be built anew. 
He informs me, at the same time, that the place is peculiarly fit, as the 
church is being built close by the side of the house; for which reason I am 
of opinion that you should instantly purchase this tract, because in addi- 
tion to enabling the three priests, now in this city, to proceed there at 
once, his Majeshj, in tinier may regain the two thousand dollars, and much 
more, by charging only twenty dollars for the grant of each lot of sixty feet 
front by a hundred and eighty deep. With respect to Cole's creek, the 
said commander informs me that the lands of Thomas Calvert are the 
most convenient for the establishment of the church, curate's house, those 
for the commander, and the small body of guards which I propose in my 
plan, and for the other town; its situation being in the centre of the large 
land establishments, distant ten leagues from the fort, and one from the 
Mississippi; and large boats being able to come up to the said tract, at 
high water; it therefore seems to me proper that you should purchase three 
hundred arpens of land, at that place, as whilst the church at Natchez 
is being buit, the answer will arrive respecting my plan, which I again 
solicited; the priests may, in the meanwhile, officiate in the first church, 
receiving their pay immediately at Natchez, and being provided with 
ornaments, and every thing necessary for saying mass and administering 
the sacrament in their own house, whilst the church is being built. 

ESTEVAN MIRO. 



[No. 6.] 



From Don Juan Ventura Morales^ Intendant ad interim of Louisiana, to 
Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, Governor of that Province. 

New Orleans, August 29, 1797". 
I send you herewith a copy of the commission by which his Majesty 
appointed Don Francisco llendon Intendant of this province. 

This document shews the powers which the King conferred on 
the said gentleman for acting in the intendency and superintendency of the 
royal hacienda, as sub-delegate of the most excellent Secretary of State 
for the department of Hacienda of Spain and the Indies, and the judicature 
of Arribadas; which functions I exercise in virtue of the royal order of 
July 10, 1795, though not with that rank, with full authoiity and indepen- 



10 

dence, except under the obligation of conforming, with regard to the iitten- 
dency as well as the superintendency, with the royal insti-uction to the 
Intendants of New Spain, in causes of hacienda, and the economical 
war arrangements which his Majesty thought proper to separate from the 
Government. In virtue thereof, I have to communicate to you the 81st 
article of the said instruction to Intendants, which is one of those relating 
to the hacie7ida. 

" The Intendants shall be the peculiar {Privativos) Judges of the depen- 
dencies, and of the causes occurring in the districts of their provinces, 
respecting sales, agreements, and distributions of royal and signorial lands; 
fsobre ventas compos) doves, y repariimientos de tierras Realciigas y de 
senorionj the possessors of such lands, and those who demand grants of 
them, being required to exhibit their rights, and to reduce their requests to 
form in presence of those intendants, in order that these aifnirs, being 
properly set forth through one of my royal attorneys, fpromotor defiscoj 
ap])ointed by Ihem, they may determine according to law and by the ad- 
vice of the ordinary assessors, admitting appeals to the superior Junta of 
hacienda, and informing that junta, in case recourse is had to it by the persons 
interested, displaying also the original acts when they shall consider them 
proper for settling the title, in order that these being seen by the junta, it 
may return a despatch then, as it may judge proper, or that before so 
doing it may issue the papers \\hich it may consider necessary. By means 
of these the superior junta may, without new difficulties, provide for the 
confirmations to be delivered at proper periods; proceeding in this business 
as also will the Intendants, sub-delegates, and others, conformably with 
what is ordered in the royal instruction of October 15th, 1754, as far as 
not contradicted hereby, without losing sight of the salutary dispositions 
of the laws cited, and of the 9th of title 12, book 4." In the 506th and 
last article of this instruction, his Majesty gives it " force of law and 
statute," firm and perpetual, and commands that it be kept and observed 
inviolably, any other laws, ordinances, establishments, customs, or practi- 
ces notwithstanding, revoking the same as far as they interfere with this, 
and declaring them void, and prohibiting any comment from being added, 
it being his royal will that it remain precisely to the letter as here expres- 
sed." 

In virtue of this, and because the government, notwithstanding it deliv- 
ered up the intendency, reserved to itself the distribution and granting of 
the lands owned by his Majesty in this province, and there is no reason 
why the royal will should not have effect in this part, I am under the ne- 
cessity of requesting that you, sir, in case there be no order, disposition, 
or provision of his Majesty of later date than the commission of Don 
Francisco Rendon, abolishing, breaking, or annulling, in this province, 
what is observed in compliance with the said 81st article, in all tiie Amer 
ican domijiions, (and in case there should be such, I hope that you will 
communicate it to me,) will no longer interfere in causes concerning sales, 
agreements, and distributions of lands belonging to his Majesty, which 
may hereafter occur, leaving it to the possessors, and to those who demand 
grants, to exhibit their rights, and I'educe their requests to form, before 
me; and not oppose the Intendency in the free and open jurisdiction 
appertaining to it, in particulars with which the collection of the revenue 
being intererested, no one has a right to meddle. 

JUAN VENTURA MORALES. 



11 

[No. 7.] 

From Don M. G. de Lemos to Don Morales. 

New Orleans, August SOlh, 179*. 
Being an enemy to discussions which embarrass and obstruct the course 
of business, to the detriment of the King's service, and having considered 
what you communicate in your official letter of yesterday, claiming cogni- 
zance of causes respecting sales, agreements, and distributions of royal 
lands, I have resolved to submit the question to higiier authority, and to 
allow no innovation until the resolution of his Majesty be made known. 

MANUEL GAYOSO DE LEMOS. 



[No. 8.] 

From M. G. de Lemos to the Prince of Peace. 

New Orleans, August 31, 1797. 
Don Juan Morales, the Intendant ad interim of these Provinces, being 
determined to use every means in his power to weaken the authority of the 
Government, yesterday sent me an official letter, of which I enclose a 
copy ('No. 6) to your Excellency, asserting his right to take cognizance 
of causes of sales, agreements, and grants, of the royal lands. My reply 
was, as by copy, (No. 7,) being resolved not to permit the slightest inno- 
vation; basing it, first, upon the royal order of August 24, 1770, (No. 2,) 
communicated to this Government by the Marquis de Grimaldi, by which 
his Majesty, being informed of the dispositions and propositions of Gene- 
ral Count O'Reilly, approved them: and also determined that the Go- 
Acrnor, Don Louis de tJnzaga, and his successors, should alone possess 
the power to grant (repartir) the lands; secondly, on the terms of the 81st 
article of the royal ordinance for Intendants of New Spain, having in view 
the care of his Majesty's interests in the collection of duties on sales, 
agreements, and grants of lands, which here pay no duty, or only five per 
cent., for the purpose of the expenses of the office, so that they may cost 
the King nothing; thirdly, on the reflection, that if these grants be made 
by any other than the Governor, his authority becomes null: it having 
been already much reduced by the separation of the Intendency. There- 
fore, in order not to be troublesome, I repeat what I said in my former 
letter, resigning myself to obey, as I ought, the orders of my sovereign; 
and 1 merely solicit a favorable decision on this point, from the conviction 
that it is convenient and useful, and that the King's service, the quiet and 
good order of these Provinces, their peopling, and the advancement of 
their agriculture, require the preservation of its prerogatives to the Go- 
vernment, without innovations, which create difficulties, and do nothing in 
favor either of the royal Hacienda, or of the strict administi^ation of jus- 
tice. 

MAJVUEL GAYOSO DE LEMOS. 



13 

[No. 9.] 

From Gilberto Leonard, Comptroller, to Don J. V. Morales. 

Nkw ORtEANs, September 30, 1797. 
Under date of January 7, 1788, (No. 5,) Don Estevan Miro. then 
Governor of these Provinces, proposed to the Intendant, Don Martin 
Navarro, the purchase of a tract of three hundred arpens of land, in the 
district oT Natchez, for the establishment of a parish and a curate's house, 
and at the same time for laying out a town at that post. This purchase 
was made, on account of the royal Hacienda, for the sum of £,00G dollars^ 
paid to the owner Don Estevan Minor, under the conviction, as stated by 
the said Governor, that his Majesty would be repaid the said sum in time, 
by only demanding 20 dollars for the grant of each lot of 60 feet front, 
by 180 deep: this also appears more particularly, from the original 
despatch of the Governor, Miro, now in the office of the Intendency; 
but the motives which prevented the said restitution of the funds, are not 
to he gathered from the archives of the chief Comptroller's office. I there- 
fore communicate this to you, in order that you may do whatever in your 
judgment may promote the King's interest, requesting of you, at the same 
time, to inform me of the results with regard to these despatches. 

GILBERTO LEONARD. 



[No. 10.] 

From Don J. V, Morales to Don Pedro Varela tj Ulloa. 

New Orleans, October 16, 1797. 
Most Excellent Sir: 

This Intendency being deprived of one of its principal privileges, that 
of taking exclusive cognizance of the business and causes occurring in its 
district, with regard to sales, agreements, and grants, of royal lands; and 
considering the arrival of a new Governor as offering a proper oppor- 
tunity to reclaim that privilege, I did so with moderation, as your Excel- 
lency will perceive by my letter of the 29th of August last, to Brigadier 
Don M. G. de Lemos, of which I send you a copy, (No. 6.) I have not 
sent a copy of the commission of the Intendant, Don F. Rendon, which is 
therein cited, as I have quoted in the letter all that refers to the case in 
point, and as, it having been issued by the Department of Hacienda of the 
Indies, if your Excellency wished to examine it, you have it already in 
your power. As we have a right to assert our claim to that which justly 
belongs to us, I did not consider that my first letter could be viewed as 
evincing a disposition to excite dissensions to the injury of the King's 
service. And as it has been my custom not to act without reason and 
forethought, I did not expect that a request, based upon a decisive royal 
determination, which has the force of law and of firm and perpetual 
statute, could have been disregarded by this Governor, without any other 
observation being made, than that it would be submitted to higher authority; 
thus depriving the Intendency of the exercise of its rights, until the royal 
pleasure can be known. Your Excellency may see by the copy of tlie said 



13 

iJrigadlcr's p.nsNver, how my dcmaiul was received. In consequence 
thereof, although as Intendant ad interim 1 am merely working lor the 
person who is to succeed me, I consider it necessary for his Majesty's 
service, that the Intendency should exercise the right which has been con- 
ceded, and must therefore request your Excellency's attention in submitting 
this my representation to the throne; in order that if it be the King's 
desire,' the Intendency may be left in free and peaceable possession of the 
right of cognizance of sales, agreements, and grants, of royal lands, 
which, as they belong to his Majesty, should only be confided to those in 
whom he has confidence for the management of tl)e same, and of his other 
precious property. 

Should I confine myself to what I have already declared, it is possible 
that the reasons advanced by Don M. G. de Lemos may turn the balance 
against me; in order to prevent this, it will be necessary for me to demon- 
strate, at length, my reasons for considering it advantageous to the King's 
servj'.e, that the Intendency should, without the intervention of any other 
aut/^.ority, take cognizance of the causes respecting sales, agreements, and 
gr/nts, of royal lands. The first is, the propriety that tlie Treasury 
sl/)ul(l receive the benefits of the sales or grants of land, without causing 
ar y dissatisfaction on the part of the inhabitants. It is not my intention 
t< propose that their value should be demanded for all the lands granted. 
Vhe most general rules are liable to exceptions; and hence, accoi-ding to 
Law 1st, Title 12, of Book 4th, of the collection {recopilacion) of laws of 
this kingdom, it is my opinion, that those which are granted to new set- 
tlers, on conditions enumerateif in the 2d law of the same title, and other 
laws judged useful, according to the circumstances of the country, over 
and above the quantity which it is known that a family can cultivate, 
should remain free from duty. I do not, ho\yever, mean, that a planter 
who may choose to extend his cultivation, increase his grazing grounds, 
keep large herds of cattle, or indulge the desire to be considered a large 
land holder, in one or many parts of the country, should be excused from 
just taxation on those lands which he demands for such purposes. It is to 
me clear, that if the Governors of this Province iiad, ever since its union 
with the dominions, adopted this maxim, hundreds of dollars would have 
entered its treasury to support the numerous expenses of the Colony; and 
his Majesty could not have given away lands without advantage, from 
which great profits might have been received. 

The second reason why I consider it most advantageous that the Inten- 
dency should have the privilege of treating the matter in question, is, that 
up to this period, the faculty of granting lands without having the pro- 
perty secured according to law, has been abusQd. I will not deny that 
this Province having been ceded in 1765, and the Spanish Government 
not having been properly organized until 1770, its Governors could not 
have conformed with the 12th article of the royal instruction of October 
15th, 1754, which is cited in the 81st article of the ordinance for the 
Intendants of New^ Spain; since neither was it among these archives, nor 
indeed was its existence know n in the Colony, until the arrival of the In- 
tendant Don Francisco llendon, in 1774: but although this is admitted, the 
Governors cannot say they have observed the laws of book 4, title 12, of 
the Recopilacion de Indias, respecting the manner and form of distributing 
and granting lands and lots — ftierras y solares.J 

In order to obtain lands from the Exchequer, {fsco,) the custom is still 



14 

pursued which prevailed when tlic Frencli were masters of the country, 
except in so far as that the Government and the Intendency acted in con- 
cert; and no other form is or has been observe:!, than the pi-esentation of a 
memorial by the petitioner, praying for a certain number of arpens, and 
designating their location. In virtue of this, the Surveyor or Command- 
ant of the Post, with the assistance of the neighbors, makes the survey; 
and if no objection be offered, puts the person in possession, and gives him 
the papers necessary for having his title drawn out: this title is issued upon 
the strength of these papers, a minute of it being preserved in tbe othce, 
in order that it may be noted in the book of grants: the sum which is to be 
paid to the Surveyor or Commandant, for hi;-i trouble, is then delivered or 
put aside; and the duty of five per cent for office fees being i-etained, the 
petitioner remains in full and quiet possession of the quantity of land 
which it may please the Governor to grant to him; I say *' which it may 
please the Governor to grant," because, although there be a general rule, 
by which no person can have more than a certain number of arpens grant- 
ed him, if for agriculture, and half a league in front if for grazing, this 
rule has not been followed with so much exactness that there have not been 
some exceptions; and, on the other hand, those who wished to have a larger 
quantity than the government seemed willing to grant, have not neglected 
to employ means for arriving at the end, at the expense of their own good 
faith. 

What I have said in the last paragraph, must be understood as regard- 
ing inhabitants or planters who solicit graijt of lands; with respect to new 
settlers, although the Commandant of the district in which they wish to 
fix themselves, may have surveyed and assigned to them the quantity of 
land which they and their families are considered capable of cultivating, 
there are yet but few who have obtained the titles, which should have been 
furnished to them. 

The method pursued in granting lots, {solares,) has neither been just nor 
uniform. With respect to those laid out at the spot where the town of 
Natchez was to be built, it appears that a petition having been offered, 
the Commandant of the district made a report, on which the Governor of 
the Province issued the patent securing the property, without any other 
payment being demanded than the Surveyor's and office fees; but the busi- 
ness was conducted in so arbitrary a manner, that during the governor- 
ship of Baron de Carondelet, without any inquiries as to whether the pro- 
perty belonged to the King or to the Cabildo, two streets were laid out, 
and several buildings were erected in the neighborhood of the levee — no 
other form being observed than that of putting the owners in possession; 
with this difference, however, that those dwelling near the levee have not 
obtained las mercedes con la absoluta transladon (sense uncertain, T.) which 
appears to have been granted to those who have obtained lots in the two 
sides of the town next the country. 

Although the laws have not indeed been" observed, I am still firmly per- 
suaded that Baron de Carondelet, and the other Governors who preceded 
him, considered themselves authorized, and acted in this particular with 
honest and fair intentions; hut, notwithstanding this, it cannot be conceal- 
ed from your Excellency's penetration, that the facility in yielding to de- 
mands made without any other forms than those related, enabled many 
persons to obtain lands and lots, which they could neither cultivate nor 
build on; but from the sale of which, they expected to derive a profit. In 



15 

the next place, as every tiling which has been done contrary to law is null, 
lands obtained without observing the requisite forms, cannot be considered 
as the lawful property of those who thus obtained them; and much less tlie 
lands held by new settlers, without patent, who bouglit them from the 
persons first receiving them, at a trifling price. If his Majesty should 
not make some dispensation in their favor, the possessors of royal lands, 
as well as those of royal lots, will suffer loss of the time and money spent 
in acquiring or settling on them. All these evils may, however, be easily 
remedied hereafter, merely by allowing the Intendency to entei* upon the 
exercise of its rights, according to the terms of the 81st article of the 
ordinance for the Intend ants of New Spain, and the royal instruction of 
October 15, 1774, so far as it is not at variance with the said article. A 
third and last reason is, tiiat the royal Hacienda may be spared many 
expenses and losses, which may otherwise result from the combination and 
execution of projects for obtaining grants of land and lots. It is clear, 
that the person who is princii)ally responsible for tiie royal interests, 
would be much more careful in that witich may occasion expenses to the 
Tieasury, than one who views the affairs of the Hacienda merely as 
accessoi-y. 

In fact, a Governor who does administer the King's property, can only 
inform himself, whether a project be useful or injurious; and considering 
it useful, without w aiting to ascertain whether the Royal Treasury be, or 
be not in a situation to provide the funds necessary for carrying it into 
effect, he will undertake it, with a view to obtain advantages. But an 
Intendant, who knows the obligations to which he is subjected, as well as 
his means of fulfilling them, wiil not expose himself to contract engagements 
which he cannot comply; he will not render himself liable to expenses, 
to meet which he has no proper fund; and finally will not embarrass 
himself, by pursuing plans, from w hich there is no certain benefit to be 
derived. As an instance of what I here state, observe the contract between 
Baron de Cai-ondelet and Baron de Bastrop, for the settlement of 1500 
protestant families, in the 144 square leagues of plain ground, in the 
District of Ouachita granted by the Governor, on condition that the Royal 
Hacienda should i)ay the expense of transporting those persons from New 
Madrid, to their place of settlement, of maintaining them for the first six 
months, and, giving them seed for their first jdanting. Much argument 
will not be necessary for to shew that such a contract could not be beneficial 
to the State; 1 have already exposed the results of my observation on the 
subject, in my letter to you. No. 125, of the 30th of June; but as it would 
have cost the Treasury 125,000 dollars, it is not probable that the Baron 
de Carondelet, if he had held the obligations of the Intendency, would 
have rendered it liable for a demand, which there were no means to satisfy; 
as those intended for the subsistence of tlie army, the civil ofticers, and 
for other purposes then so necessary to the defence and security of the 
Province, could not have been thus employed; and as an infallible conse- 
quence if the Intendency had possessed' the right of distributing and 
-ranting lands, the project never would have been undertaken, until his 
lajesty's decision had been made know n. In that case. Baron de Bastrop, 
• Baron de Carondelet, would have solicited the grant of the 144 square 
igues, which were granted by the latter; and it would have been a matter 
discussion, whether or not, the proposition could have been admitted, 



16 

Jintil the King, on being infornierl of the circumstances, had a[>i)ro\ed 
them, and appropriated the means necessary for their execution. 

This example is sufficient, witii regard to pi-ojects for obtaining land, at 
the same time requiring disbursements from the Treasury. And with 
regard to losses, in order not to trouble your Excellency farther, I will 
thereby call your attention to what is contained in document No. 5. The 
SOO arpcns of land in (juestion, were purc!iased;but the 2000 dollars which 
they cost, and which were to have been repaid by the sale of the lots at 
20 dollars each, are still wanting, as your Excellency wdll see by the 
(k'spatch (No. 9) sent me by the Comptroller; there being, as far as I can 
loarri, neither land nor lots from which they can be recovered, as all were 
giAxn by the Governor, without the forms prescribed for such cases by 
law. 

In addition to the preceding reasons, on which I chiefly found my 
request, there are others no less powerful, to shew that the granting of all 
lots in this City, which iti any way belong to the King, should be committed 
to the Intendcncy. They are Jirst, that by the sale of those on the coun- 
try side, restitution may be made, if not for the enormous sums expended 
by Baron de Carondelet in fortifying the place, at least for the value of 
the ground occupied by those fortifications. Secondly^ that the facility of 
landing and depositir)g contraband goods, may not be increased by the 
sale of the lots immediately on the levee, this being done, as also the secret 
exportation of money, on those lots which have been already granted, and 
built on, without any danger of detection; these practices could not have been 
pui'sued to so great an extent, had there been as formerly, a street through 
the middle, as the smugglers would have been exposed to the observation 
of all who passed; and it would not have been so easy for them, to escape 
the vigilance of the guard. Finallij^ the injury sustained by commerce in 
general, from these illegal grants, would have been restrained, there would 
soon have been no place left for the discharge of cargoes and ballast, which 
latter, as it cannot remain on the levees nor on the side of the river, must be 
thrown on the town side; convenience for this is much needed, and the 
want of it, is a great loss to the owners and masters of boats, at the houses 
built on the lots granted, are close together, and even w ith the levee. 

I have no knowledge of the reasons which Don M. G. Lemos may 
advance, in favor of preserving the right of cognizance, in causes respecting 
sales, agi'eements, and distributions of royal lands, w hich I claim as the 
exclusive and peculiar property of the Intendency, and I cannot therefore 
venture to consider them, as less powerful than my own. But if they are, 
as I suppose, the possession of the privilege by the Governorship, since 
the union of the Colony with the dominion, the loss of public respect which 
the suppression of this power may occasio'n to the Gubernatorial authority, 
and the bearing which it may have upon the political system of the State, 
and the increase of population, I conceive that I may fairly oppose to 
tiiem solid and consistent reasons, in support of my own view. As to 
the possession of the privilege — it emanated from the King, and none can 
dispute his right to do whatever he may judge proper with his own and 
for the advantage of his own. As to the loss of public respect — even 
though the Governor should not have all the military and political power, 
befitting his station, yet it is not just to invest him with what belongs to 
another jurisdiction. And as to the bearing upon the political system, 
and the increase of population, — as the Governor has hitherto received from 



17 

the Intendant, all the assistance in funds, and whatever else he needed, for 
the performance of his duties, and for the establishment of settlers, in 
like manner the Intcndency, on being requested, would grant whatever 
lands were necessary to carry views of the Governor into effect. 

Perhaps the circumstance of my being interested in tiie case, may have 
biassed my mind; or arguments of greater force may be brought on the 
other side. However, as I am certain that your Excellency will not in- 
form tlic King, nntii you have weighed those on both sides in the balance 
of your own correct judgment, 1 remain in full confidence that the reso- 
lution whiclihisMajcsty may take on this affair, will be most just and pro- 
per for the interest of the State, and the advantage of these his subjects. 

JUAN VENTURA MORALES. 



[No. 11.] 
Royal order to Don M. G. de Lemos, Governor of Louisiana. 

Palace of Jan Lokejvzo, Madrid^ Oct. 22, 1798. 

In consequence of your letter, dated the 31st of August, 1797, (No. 9,) 
directed to the Prince of Peace, and of another from the Intendant ad iiiterim 
of that Province, date the IGth of October of same year, (No. 10, J respecting 
the right of granting and distributing royal lands, in the district under your 
command, which right has been vested in the political and military Go- 
vernment, since the order of August 24th, 1774. 

The King has resolved, for the sake of the better and more exact obser- 
vance of the 81st article of the royal ordnance for Intendants of New 
Spain, that the exclusive faculty of granting and distributing (conceder y 
repartir) lands of every class, shall be restored to the Intendency of that 
Province, free from the interference of any other authority in the pro- 
ceedings as establislied by law; consequently, the power hitherto residing 
in the Government to those effects, is abolished and suppressed, being 
transferred to the Intendency for the future. 

This royal order, I hereby communicate to you, as I also do imder this 
same date to the Intendant ad interim of that Province, in order that you 
may both comprehend and execute it. 

Heaven preserve you many years. 

SOLER. 



[No. 12.] 



Document containing the official proceedings and correspondence on the sub- 
ject of the transfer i by royal order, of the power to grant lands, from the 
Governor to the Intendant of Louisiana. 

Deposition. — In the city of New Orleans, on the 9th of February, 1799, 

Don J. V. Morales, principal Comptroller of the Army, Intendant ad 

interim of the royal Hacienda of this Province of Louisiana, sub-delegate 

of the General Superintendency of the same, for his Majesty, declared — 

3 



^o 



IS 

Tliat by royal order of the 22d of October last, which will be hereafter 
produced in evidence, his Pdajesty has been pleased to restore to this 
Intendcncy, tlie exclusive faculty of granting and distributing lands of 
every class, according to the 81st article of the royal ordinance for the 
Intendants of New Spain, free from tlic interference of any other authori- 
ty, in the proceedings as established by law; and that the power hitherto 
residing in the Government, to make such grants and distributions, is 
abolished and suppressed. That in consequence, he commanded, as it was 
J»is duty, this royal resolution to be published by edict, according to the 
accustomed forms, demanding the assistance of the Governor General of 
tiie Province, by virtue thereof, in order that tlie requisite troops should 
be supplied, and that it should be made known at the other ports of the 
Pi'ovince, by means of despatches sent from the Department to the res- 
pective commanders, together with a copy of the said edict; he reserving 
to himself to make any other arrangements proper in the affair. That he 
had taken all these measures with the advice of the Assessor General 
{Chief legal Counsel.) Thus he stated and signed: J.Y. Morales. The Li- 
centiate Manuel Serrano. Carlos Ximenes, Escribano. 

(The Royal Order JVu. 11, is next recited at length, with the following 
attestation.) New Orleans, February 9th, 1799. A true copy from the 
original, which remains in the oflics of the Intendency. 

CARLOS XIMENES. 

Declaration — New Orleans, February 9, 1797. I, the undersigned Es- 
cribano proceeded to Ihe Government House, and after the customary cere- 
monies communicated to Don M. G. de Lemos, Brigadier of the Royal 
Armies, Governor General of the Province of Louisiana, the preceding 
deposition of Don J. V. Morales, Intendant ad interim of the royal Had- 
endi of this same Province. His Excellency having [examined the same, 
replied — that he would have no hesitation in affording the assistance of 
the troops required for the purpose in question, if tlie royal order, commu- 
nicated to tlie Intendency, had also reached himself; that it has not been 
received by him, but that as soon as it is, he will at once grant the requir- 
ed assistance, and offer to the sovereign will all proper respect and obe- 
dience in this affiiir. His Excellency requested that I vvould take this as 
reply, and signed tlie same — Gayoso — in my presence: Carlos Ximenes. 

Decree — New Orleans, February 12th, 1799. It appearing by the 
preceding declaration, that the Governor has not received the royal ordei* 
cited therein, let a certified copy of said order, with the proper official 
paper, be sent through the Escribano, in order that at sight thereof, his 
Excellency may afford the assistance which has been required. Morales — 
the Licentiate Serrano. Ximenes. 

Declaration. — In the City of New Orleans, on the 13th of February, 
1799. I, the undersigned Escribano, having had delivered to me at the 
office of the Intendency, a sealed official paper for the Governor General 
of this Province, Don M. G. de Lemos, Brigadier of the Royal Armies, 
which paper is the same ordered to be made out in the preceding decree, I 
went, and, after the usual ceremonies, delivered it into the said Govern- 



19 

ur's liHiuls; Aviio, having in my presence read it, as also llie accompanying 
certified copy of the royal order given in tliis document, his Excellency 
answered — that he would reply to the Intendant, Don J. V. Morales; 
in proof of which, I have drawn up this declaration. Ximenes. 

Decree. — New Orleans, March 6, 1799. Let certified copies he made 
and appended to this, of the official letters on this suhject, sent bj me to 
the Governor General Don M. G. de Lemos, on the istli, the 14th. and 
the 18th of February: also, of that sent on the 2d of this month, in which 
I insisted on the point in question, and of the reply of the Governor, dated 
yesterday. Morales. The Licentiate Serrano. Ximenes. 

Copy.- — to Don M. G. de Lemos. New Orleans, February 12, 1799. 
Judging from the terms used by his Excellency Don Miguel Cayetano 
Soler, in communicating to me the royal resolution of his Majesty, res- 
pecting the jurisdiction to which belongs the distribution of all classes of 
lands, that you should have received tlie royal order of October 22, 1798, 
as sent under the same date to this Intendency, I omitted to inform you of 
its context: but, as you stated, in reply to my rerjuisitiou for the proper 
military assistance, aiid its solemn publication, that it liad not yet reached 
you, I send you. with this a copy of the order received by me, certified by 
his Majesty's Secretary for this Intendency, in order that it may supply 
the place of that which I doubt not has been mislaid or lost in transporta- 
tion: and that the accomplishment of the So\ereign will may suffer no 
delay. J. V. MORALES. 

To Don M. G. de Lemos. 

New Orleans, February IS, 1799. 
Sir: With your official letter, dated yesterday, I receive<l the copy of 
the royal order, made at the office of the Intendency. respecting the juris- 
diction under whicli the distribution of all classes of lands should remain; 
and although I have not received that royal order directly, yet I do not 
wish that any doubt should remain of my readiness to comjjly with the 
commands of my Sovereign, tbi-ough w hate\ er rliannel they may come: I, 
therefore, immediately obey, leaving the intendency whicli is under 
your charge, free and untrammelled. I must, however, observe, tiiat I do 
not consider the publication necessary, as the King docs not command it; 
and as I assure you that I will not, in any way, meddle with the affairs 
of the Intendency, and that I will assist you in all your arrangements, to 
the utmost of the powers confided to me to that effect. I will thank you, 
sir, to send me a certified copy of tlic 31st article of the royal ordinance for 
Intendents of New Spain, so that I may give the necessary orders to the com- 
manders of these Provinces, to afford you assistance. As the population of 
this country is increased by the arrival of foreigners, I must obser^ e, as I 
have already commanded, that it is not proper for any Americans to be 
suffered to settle on the western side of the riA^er. It is also necessary for 
the convenience and security of the government of these Provinces, that 
you should, in the easiest ami most suitable manner, inform this Go- 
vernnient who are tiie foreignej-s soliciting or about to receive grants 
of lands, in order that it be determined whethei* or not they should be 
admitted. I also inform you that, for political reasons, I have projected 
and commenced the establishment of a Colony of Americans on the other 



side of the lake; of the number of wiioni 1 will hereafter inform you. 1 
conclude with lepeating, that I am ready to assist you in your disposi- 
tions, requesting you to give mc your views on the subjects lierein men- 
tioned, in order that I may communicate my ideas to his majesty, without 
entering at all upon the affairs of the Intendency. 

M. G. DE LEMOS. 

New Orleans, February 14, 1799. 

Sir: In your letter of yesterday, after acknowledging the receipt of the 
copy of the royal order of October 22d. 1798, determining to w hich juris- 
diction belongs the distribution of all classes of lands in these Provinces, 
and declaring that, although you had not received said order yourself, yet 
that no doubt might exist as to your readiness to comply with the royal 
commands, through whatever channel tliey might be communicated, you 
would instantly obey it, leaving the Intendency now under my cliarge, 
free and untrammelled; you observe tiiat you do not consider the publi- 
cation necessary, as it is not commanded by the King; but tliat far from 
meddling Avith the affairs of this Intendency, you will aid me in my 
arrangements, to the full extent of the pow ers to that effect confided to you 
by his Majesty; and you request of me a certified copy of the 8 1st arti- 
cle of the royal ordinance for Intandents of New Spain, for the purpose of 
enabling youto give the necessary directions to the commanders of these 
Provinces, to aid me; you likewise notify me that no grants should be 
made to Americans on the western side of the river; that the Government 
should be informed respecting the persons who solicit, or are about to 
receive grants of lands, in order to know whetlier their admission be con- 
formable with your views; and that you had projected and commenced the 
settlement of Americans beyond the lake, of whose number you will here- 
after inform me. You conclude by assuring me that you are ready to 
assist me in my arrangements, and request me to give you my ideas on 
the subjects mentioned, in order that in your communication to the King, 
you may not enter at all on the affairs of the Intendency. 

In reply, I have to say, that notwithstanding the answer you made to my 
demand for your assistance in the publication, I did not suppose that w hen 
the document setting forth the royal w ill was in your possession, you would 
hesitate to fulfil it accurately; and for that reason, as soon as I was 
informed of the non-arrival of the original, I ordered the certified copy to 
be sent to you of that which I had received, iji reply to my representation 
(No. 10) of the 16th of October, 1797. I liave, however, to express to you 
my obligations for the promptness with wliich you have submitted to that 
royal order, although you had not youiself received it directly; I hope 
that you will accept them, and remain persuaded that I w ill suffer no occa- 
sion to pass, of manifesting to the Government my desire to contribute to 
the attainment of its ends, which are the prosperity, advancement, and 
defence, of these Provinces. 

I cannot, however, refrain from stating, that I do not consider as suffi- 
cient, your reasons for withholding the publication. The royal order, in 
truth, does not expressly command it; but considering that its concluding 
words are: ** I communicate to ijou, in order that you may comprehend, and 
execute it;" that every law or sovereign disposition altering or abolishing 
any thing addressed to the public, has no force until thus made known, 
and that it is the custom in Mexico and the other parts of his Majesty's 



21 

dominions, for the authorities to int'orni the subjects in this way, of all 
royal resolutions intended to be made kno^ n to them, it is clear that, as an 
old system is thus changed by tliis royal order, the public should be inlorm- 
ed from what source sucli cliangc emanates; it should know the circum- 
stances, in order to conform to the provisions, and to be able to address its 
demands to tlie competent jurisdiction. The publication is, indeed, tacitly 
comprehended in the words above quoted in italics: and in this I am sup- 
ported by the oj)inion of my Attorney {Jise.sor) \\lio lias offered to declare 
it in writing; and who, moreover, adds, that although you should not think 
proper to give the requisite assistance, yet the formalities of the publication, 
by means ot hand-bills ])osted in the streets, and of instructions to the com- 
manders of the whole Province, as sub-delegates, to notify the inhabitants 
of their respective districts, of the royal will, caniiot be dispensed with. 
I therefore entreat you to give me your final deterniiiiation on the subject 
of the assistance required, in order that 1 may thereby regulate my con- 
duct. 

I have already, Avith my letter of August 29th, 1797, (No. 6,) sent you 
a copy of the 8 1st article of the royal ordinance for Intendants of New 
Spain, [page 10.] 1 will, however, send you another copy of it, in order that 
you may thereby see w liat measures you should indicate to me. As I sup- 
pose you will also desire to see the Instruction of the year 1754, which is 
cited in that article, I ha'.e also ordered a cf>py to be made, which, from 
the length, it will require some time to finish: it will also be sent to you. 
I hope you will favor me, by directing a certified copy to be sent to me, 
of the royal order of August 24, 1774, by virtue of which the Government 
first possessed the privilege of distributing lands and lots; and that you 
will deliver to me the registers of grants, the memorials or other docu- 
ments, on the strength of which they were made, and any thing else which 
you may consider requisite for the regulation and discharge of what has 
now become my duty. 

I shall avail myself henceforward, of your suggestion, that no Ameri- 
cans should be allowed to settle on the w estern side of the river; and also, 
in order to reconcile your wishes with the fulfilment of the sovereign will, 
I w ill not grant nor distribute (rcparHr) land to any foreigner desiring to 
settle in these Provinces, until he has presented to me a document, shew- 
ing that he had obtained permission from the Goverment to hold it. 

As to the establishment of Americans, which yoij have projected and 
commenced on the other side of the lake, I suppose you have informed his 
Majesty of it; and when tlie royal resolution on the subject arrives, I shall 
not hesitate to make good {verificar) the allotment of land which you have 
proposed, and to provide the proper titles, according to your conditions 
and promises. 

You may communicate to the King what may seem good to you upon 
these points, which are, however, in my opinion, of too little importance 
to require a change of any determination which his Majesty has taken or 
may take. 

J. V. MORALES. 

To Don M. G. de Lemos. 

New Orleans, February 18, 1799. 
Sir: Agreeably to my promise, made on the 14tli iust., I send you certi- 
fied copies of the 81st aitide of the ordinance for Intendants of New 



22 

Spain, which is ol" I'orce in this Province, and of the instruction rel'eri'ed 
to in said article. I hope you will inform nie of their receipt, and that 
you will accede to my request, for tiic documents relating to this business, 
conveyed in the same lettei*. 

J. V. MORALES. 

To Don M. G. de Lemos. 

New Orleans, March 2, 1799. 
Sir: In my letter of the 14th ult., I asked you whether you would afford 
or not, the military assistance required for the publication of his Majesty's 
decision of October 22, 1798. respecting tlie jurisdiction under which the 
distribution of all classes of lands in this Province are to remain. I also 
desired a certified copy of the royal order of August 24, 1774, as well as 
the delivery of the i-egisters of grants, and tlie documents in virtue of 
whicli they were made. A longer delay in furnishing these, would be 
very injurious to the interests of the royal Hacienda, as there are a num- 
ber of persons requesting grants; and it is my earnest desire that those 
interests should suffer no loss. 

J. V. MORALES. 

To Don J. V. Morales. 

New Orleans, March 5, 1779. 
Sir: The quantity and the urgency of the business on my hands, which 
has just been much increased by the arrival of tlie mail, and the attention 
which I am obliged to pay to affairs of pressing importance, have delayed, 
and must still delay, the preparation and delivery of the documents request- 
ed by you on the 14th ult., in order that you might enter upon the duties 
of distributing lands, according to the royal order of October 22, 1798. 
However, while this labor is going on at my office, I send you a certified 
copy of the royal order of August 24, 1770, (No. 2,) and not 1774, as, by 
mistake, it has been printed in the royal order of October 18th, 1798. i 
also send the form of the first decree, which it has been the custom to 
issue before the survey was made. Of the registers, which will soon be 
sent, you will see the form i)i those used bv all my predecessors. Jn addi- 
tion, I send for your information a copy of the instructions given l>y me, 
under date of Jamiary 1st, 1798, to the commanders of posts in this Pro- 
vince, with regard t<> the admission of new settlers; I must, however, 
observe, that I have been in the habit of making some alteration in favor 
of those who were deserving. I have sent orders to the Monitor, the prin- 
cipal newspaper in this Province, to publish his Majesty's resolution, of 
w^iich, however, as of the orders sent to the commanders, I do not think 
the publication in form of edict, necessary. I have thus complied with 
the requests contained in your letter of the 14th ult. 

M. G. DE LEMOS. 

Certijicate. — New Orleans, March 9, 1 799. The above are true copies 
from the originals. — Cayetano Valdes. 

Order. — New Orleans, March 12, 1799. Inasmuch as the Governor 
General has not thought proper to afford his assistance in publishing, by 
edict, the royal order aforesaid, and it having been officially communicated 
to the posts out of this capitol, let it also be made known in this city, by 



23 

notices posted in the streets, evidence of the same heing taken, tor trans- 
mission to his Majesty. — Morales — Serrano — Ximenes. 

Attestation. — New Orleans, March 12, 1799. Don J. V. Morales, chief 
Comptroller of the Army and the royal Hacienda, and Iiitendant ad interim 
of this Province of Louisiana for his Majesty, gave the ahove order, and 
declared that he did so with the assent of the Attorney General of tiiis 
Intendency. — Carlos Ximenes. 

In compliance with the above ordci', I caused six bills to be posted in 

the streets of this city, making known tlie resolution of his Majesty. 

Ximenes. 

Certificate. — New Orleans, March 28, 1799. The above documents are 
conformable with the original remaining in tliis office under my cliargc. — 
Ximenes. 



[No. 13.] 



At New Orleans, on the 1st July, 1799. 
General Regnlations and Instructions issued by the Infendant ad interim. 
Morales, with respect to the granting of lands in Louisiana and West 
Florida. 

[Of this long paper a translation, inartificial but correct, may be found 
m the fifth volume of the Executive Documents of 1828-9, Document 
No. 121, page 208.] 



[No. 14.] 

From Don J. V. Morales to Don Miguel Caijetano Soler. 

New Orleaas, July 25, 1799. 
Most Excellent Sir: The late Don M. G. de Lemos, Governor of this 
Province, availin|r himself of the excuse of not having received the Royal 
order of October 25, 1798, by which his Majesty commanded the restora- 
tion to this Intendency of the right to distribute lands of every class 
endeavored to delay the execution of the same; but, at length, bein"" 
required by me officially, as you will see by the annexed document, (No. 
12,) surrendered the power which had been assigned by the royal order of 
August 24th, 1770, to the political and military Government, and it 
remains annexed to the Intendency, as that document shews; he, however 
refused to afford the military assistance towards the publication of the 
sovereign will, with the proper pomp and solemnity. Infinite were the 
abuses in the mode of distributing the lands, and for that reason, in order 
to terminate them, and proceed on the business not only conformably with 
the laws, but also with regard to the circumstances of the country, after 
consulting with the attorney of tlie intendency, and other persons acquain- 
ted with the business, I drew up the regulation which I now send to vour 



24 

/ • 
Excellency, with a request that you will submit it to your Majesty for his 
approbation or other expressio)i of his royal v.ill. The price of printing 
three liundred copies, as agreed on with the only printer in this place, was 
150 dollars, wliich I have ordered to be ])aid out of the royal funds, under 
the persuasion that his Majesty v.iil approve an expenditure so necessary 
for the instruction of all the irJiabitants of these Provinces, in the manner 
of preferring their petitions, and in tlie conditions on which they may be 
granted; without these, great labor would have been necessary to retrieve 
tilings from the confusion produced by a long course of arbitrary pro- 
ceedings. 

This branch of the revenue of these Provinces, will not, indeed, produce 
as much as it would have yielded, but for two opposing circumstances: 
The first was the cession of the country down to the 31st degree of lati- 
tude, to the Americans, made by the last treaty, (October 27, 1795.) Thus 
were surrendered the greatest portion of the vacant lands, which might have 
been sold at a fair price. Tiie second, was the prodigality of the Govern- 
or, and particularly of Don M. G. de Lemos, in allotting large quan- 
tities of land to persons who could not even cultivate them, and who soli- 
cited them only under the hope of gaining something by their sale. To 
annul these grants would be productive of great difficulties, and this must 
be considered an evil without a remedy, unless the vast comprehension of 
your Excellency can suggest some plan, and determine the King to adopt 
it. May God render prosperous the important life of your Excellency. 

J. V. MORALES. 



[No. 14.] 



Domment containing the official papers relative to lands destined for the 
families who have quitted Galveziou, in order to settle at Baton Rouge, 

From Don Carlos de Grand-pre to Bon J. V. Morales. 

Baton Rouge, March 4, 1806. 
Sir: I send you enclosed, the plan of the ground about this fortress, of 
which 1 have caused the part beyond tlie range of the guns, to be divided 
into small lots, of four arpens each, fof the establisliment of the late inhabi- 
tants of Galvezton, and others, by whom they are now occupied. For other 
particulars, I refer you to my letter of the 29th December, 1805; merely 
observing, that it is necessary to resume a portion of said ground, which 
had been, by error, enclosed by Don Guillermo Dumbard, the Deputy Sur- 
veyor, in the grant of the late Don M. G. de Lemos; it may, however, b© 
supplied from other vacant land in the vicinity, and thus the ground of 
the fort will be an exact oblong. By this means, that useful establishment 
may be much extended. CARLOS DE GRAND-PRE. 

Letter from the same to the same, referred to above. 

Baton Rouge, December 29, 1805. 
Sir: Ever since the cession of this Province to France, and its acquisi- 
tion by the American Government, the Spanish families living at Galvez- 
ton, have been solicitous to obtain lands in this part of the King's domi- 
nions, not being content to live under new laws and a foreign Government. 



25 

They were consequently allowed to choose from the vacant royal lancis in 
this district, such as might accommodate them until the opening of the 
land oftices, so long suspended, from motives which have just given way to 
the superior determination of the Captain General the Marquis de Somer- 
vclos. But these families, (the same hrougJit from the Canai'ics to this 
Colony, on account of the royal //aciejirfa,) having found none to suit theia. 
I projected the estahlishment of a town for them, in the neighhorhood of 
this fort, and on land helonging to it. From this most useful establish- 
ment great advantage has been derived, for the better defence of this 
place, by means of the ready and efficient assistance of tlso militia, formed 
by these inhabitants, and by the clearing of the ground in the neighljor- 
hood, which was covered with thick woods, up to the very line of the range 
of our guns. An advantage was also received by the inhabitants, from their 
proximity to the fort and the river, by which means, they could sell or buy 
as they wished; disposing of their own productions, and obtaining artij-les 
necessary for their use. Having communicated my arrangements on this 
point, to the commandant of this Province, on the 1st of February last, he 
replied under date of IStii of May, that he approved them in all respects. 

With respect to the said land wdiicli extends about 20 trryjejis deep (?) 
from the fort, I have arranged its sub-division into lots of four arpeiis 
each, for a family, at the distance of 130 toises from the batteries; there 
are now 34 of these lots; and you w-ill see by inspecting the plan, the es-ror 
committed by the surveyor who laid off the ground granted to the late Don 
M. G. de Lemos, and who supposed that the fort had but four arpens in front: 
whereas it had eight; and by restoring to the fort that portion w hich hasi 
been improperly included in the plan of the grant to Gayoso de Lemos. and 
for which indemnification can be made from the vacant land in the vicinity 
on the north, a farther addition may be made to this injportant establish- 
ment. You Avill inform the surveyor, Vincent Pintado, of all this. 

As I considered this tov»m to be on the lands of the fort, I did not hesi- 
tate to give each person possession. 1 issued no titles; but should you not 
object, I will now do so, as Don M. Gayoso de Lemos did at Natchez: 
which has become a place of considerable size. 1 withheld these titles. 
indeed, in order to submit them to your consideration, as they do not pro- 
perly belong to the office of the commander, and the persons interested are 
unable to go to any expense on account of them. 

CARLOS DE GRAND-PRE. 

Order. — To Juan Morales and Ventura Quiroga. Pensacola, July £8. 
1806. Let the above letter be added to the despatch accompanying the 
plan of the ground, and the whole be submitted to the Attorney of the 
royal Hacienda. Morales — Heredia. 

We submitted the above to the attorney of the royal Hacienda on the 
same day. Morales — Quiroga. 

To Don J. V. Morales. 

Bato.v Rouge, September 12, 1806. 

Sir: The new settlers on the ground belonging to the ruined fort, of 

whom I wrote to you, sending a plan enclosed, for the ])urposc of knowing 

your determination with respect to issuing the proper titles to them, being 

in suspense, and I myself being doubtful whether you have resolved of 

4 



26 

yourself to issue those titles, or to give nie power to do so, or whether 
you think I can do so in my military capacity; I should be glad if you 
would inform me, in order that I may comply with the wishes of the pre- 
sent inhabitants, and put an end to their alarms, lest there should be any 
iiolitical or local change here; for they have already spent much in clear- 
ing and planting. CARLOS DE GRAND-PRE. 

Order. — To J. Morales and V. Quiroga. Pensacola, October 29, 1806. 
Let tlie above be added to the other papers on which an answer is in pre- 
paration. Morales. 

Certificaie. — Pensacola, November 29, 1806. The above is a true copy 
from the original, now in the office of this Litendency; and we give our 
testimony, that we have acted therein according to the directions of the 
Intendant. .luan Morales — Ventura Quiroga. 



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